Monday, March 20, 2017

During my holiday break back in December/January I did some closet cleaning.....card closet that is. But during my tidying up I discovered something that was a bit of a surprise to me. Many of my older one touch magnetic holders were showing signs of disintegrating magnets.

I was pretty bummed - but more concerned as I have a number of my cards in these holders. I knew that keeping them in these ticking time bombs might prove detrimental to their condition in the future (I'd hate to see what happens when the magnets completely fall apart and seep into where the card is).

So me being me I decided to contact Ultra-Pro and let them know about the situation. I asked if they had seen anything like this before. They asked if I could send a couple samples - which I promptly did, and once they received those, quickly came to the conclusion that replacements would be sent.

They asked for specific numbers (sizes and amounts) as well as what kind of storage conditions I kept the cards in. After a bit of back and forth with the e-mails I learned that a package had been sent.

It arrived today....

This is what 121 new Ultra-Pro Magnetic One Touches looks like. And I don't have much to say other than I am completely impressed. Impressed with the customer service I received and impressed with the promptness of their response and action. In less than 3 months my concerns of damaged card holders is gone.

I would implore you all to check your one touches (especially if they are the older ones with silver magnets) and to contact Ultra-Pro should you see the same kind of damage I did. I would hope that they deal with all future concerns the same way they did with me.

Sunday, March 19, 2017

While the local card show yesterday might not have been as exciting as one would hope, the mailbox at my house is starting to heat up.

I've taken a few more stabs at cards on eBay and have actually managed to reel in a few bites. Always nice to add to the main pc, bet even more exciting when those cards come at a reasonable price.

I've been way more patient with my purchasing over the past while and this new habit is resting on me just fine. I'm really not stressing it when I see a new product release with 20...30...40 new Linden cards to chase. Most I've come to accept as ones that will never join my collection - just too many cards that are so low numbered. The math just doesn't add up.

I've seen a few collectors succumb to the demands of being a player completionist and in some instances given up collecting altogether. I think that's a shame. Yes, the economy isn't what is used to be and yes, there are many things more important than cards....but to leave the key on the counter as you exit the building just seems like a drastic decision.

For me, I'm keeping my completionist attitude.....just altering the pace at which I chase. I find a lot of enjoyment in just keeping my master checklist up to date (I know.......boring right?) and landing the odd card here or there just fulfills the collector's urge in me. I hope it never dies (I don't think it will....I'm too far into this now to bail on it).

Speaking of landing a new card....here's what arrived on Friday.

2016/17 Upper Deck Artifacts

#A-TL Autofacts

I remember back in the day when the Artifacts "parallel hell" wasn't just limited to the base card varieties but the autographed cards too. I still vividly remember finally finding a tough sig /10 to quell any thoughts of never finding the tough chase.

Now, the signature cards are unnumbered and are categorized by their insertion numbers. Some are regular issued, some are short printed and some....the dreaded SSP. This Linden falls into that category (actually....to be completely accurate, it's an SSSP).

Four different categories of autos in the Autofacts set. Group D is the most commonly inserted (1:111 packs), while the Linden is a Group A (1:1,548 packs). And that doesn't mean a Linden in every 1,500+ packs....that's just Group A signature cards.

So when I saw the first few copies pop up on the secondary market, I knew I'd be sitting back. People can sometimes go crazy on the first wave of new cards. I'm more than happy to sit back and wait for a price that I'm comfortable with.

That chance occurred a couple weeks ago and I was happy with the price.

After opening up the envelope, I can confidently say that I'm happy with the card too.

Now, speaking of cards that can sometimes go crazy during that first wave....

Fleer Showcase has just been released and part of their inserts include buybacks from the "iconic" 92/93 season....some of which get the autograph treatment (like the Linden....which I stole the scan of off eBay).

I must say that for a card you couldn't give away, Upper Deck certainly has got me excited about chasing this one down. Slap a serial number on it and a hard signed autograph and all of the sudden this piece of cardboard starts to look pretty good.

Buybacks seem to be a hot insert concept of late. Upper Deck had some buybacks a couple years ago from their iconic 90/91 set and Score had their Recollection Collection autos. In The Game purged all of their remaining stock in Final Vault and I've noticed my Oscar Gamble collection has more buybacks out over the past 2-3 years than actual newly released cards.

So what gives? Why the popularity? Is it the harkening back to "the good ol' days"? I can't see cards like these giving a sense of "added value" to a product......it was kindling up until a few weeks ago when the signature got slapped on it.

For me, I like these cards in small doses (this single insertion of Linden into the Fleer Showcase product is fantastic). A simple, yet attainable, chase.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

It was monthly card show day today and although I didn't come across any new Linden cards to add to the collection, it was really nice to see a bunch of new "stuff" on tables that normally have a bit too much of the "same ol' stuff". I was tempted to splurge on a couple bigger ticket cards but a recent appointment with my financial guy had me hearing his voice in my head a little louder than normal. Probably a good thing.

But that doesn't mean I didn't find something to come home with.

First (and most surprising) would be the latest issue of Beckett Hockey. I can honestly say that I haven't paid for a Beckett mag in years. It's just turned into too much "price guide" (and I use that term a little loosely) and not enough articles. But the cover of the most recent issue had me considering an exception.

Alright.....you have me interested. I'm a sucker for a good list and I guess when it comes to hockey cards, this would be the ultimate one (although I bet I could come up with some pretty sweet lists of my own).

And I love the way the cover looks. Super simple design but the gold light overlay just really caught my eye. Very nice.

So I bought it. I won't divulge anything regarding the items on the list (as I would recommend you go and pick up a copy to check it out) but I will say that there were a number of cards that had me surprised.

I would assume a number of iconic pieces of cardboard be on the list but there were many that I never....NEVER would have considered. I like that in a good list. A decision is made, an argument is presented and a list is formed. Kudos.

Sadly, there wasn't much else in the magazine that caught my eye. It's just not like it used to be back when the magazine was born in the early 90's. The "Hot List" made me laugh though. Every single one of the 20 cards presented were either Young Guns or YG Canvas cards....say for one - and it was a Canvas card. Boy.....I feel like the hobbyists are predictable these days.

Where's the variety? Where's the fun? Are we all just supposed to go and get our Auston Matthews or Patrick Laine YG and just call it a day? I guess so.

But I digress..... on to the card pickup at hand. One new add and it was an automatic when I saw it.

This Guy Lafleur Signature Champions card is one I have seen a number of times online but never took a stab at. His signed stuff feels a little off-kilter to me. The guy is a legend....but he doesn't seem to have the hobby love that one would expect. Original Six team, hugely popular in the 70's and early 80's, successful and loved by the fans. So what gives?

Is it the fact that played second fiddle to Gretzky in the latter portion of his career? Too many great Habs back in those days? Outside of Montreal is he even on anybody's radar?

Regardless, I've been waiting for the price to be a reasonable one before I struck. The price tag on this one today made the decision easy. Simply put, I paid less for this card than I did for the Chris Chelios one a couple weeks back.

'Nuff said.

My only beef with the card would be that Guy isn't hoisting the Cup over his head. But I guess that wasn't the big thing to do back in the 70's like it is today. And the Conn Smythe trophy balanced above The Cup just steals the thunder from what should be a pinnacle moment (actually....the yellow towel does that pretty well too).

One more off the list. Starting to get to a point where it's the tougher ones left on my list. But I knew that going in.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Alright....the last of my card show pickups has me thinking if it's even worth sharing this one with you all.

After all, I overpaid for it (was part of my 2-card lot with the Chelios Signature Champions) and it really doesn't have much exciting to add. But maybe I'm being too critical.

I'll let you all decide.

There are cards that I purposefully pass on when I see it pop up online. I figure that there's a good chance I'll find it locally. And to me "locally" means cheaper.

Most of the time.

2014/15 Leaf In The Game Used

Game Used Quad Silver

#GU4J-02 (with Hull, Naslund & Roenick) /55

This is the most common card Linden has in the robust first offering from Leaf back a couple years ago. Leaf/ITG paired up to release In The Game Used and Trev has a whopping 45 cards in the product.

FORTY-FIVE

And this card /55 is the most common. You can understand if I didn't go after this list with a great amount of gumption.

I did find a copy of this quad jersey but the price tag was a little cringe-worthy. Hoping to get the price down I paired it up with the aforementioned Chris Chelios autograph but the discount was only marginal.

So let's not talk about how much I spent on this card.

Instead, let's try to figure out what the heck the connection is between the four players shown on the card. And "They all play hockey" is not the right answer.

Sunday, March 12, 2017

So when I came across a box full of non-sport priced at three bucks a piece or 2 for $5....I decided to take a few moments.

I came to a quick halt when I saw this gem....

Ha ha ha......who loves ya' baby!

I have no idea what possessed...............oh yeah right. I'm a sucker.

Get it!!! I'm starting to show my age.

The back of the card has some great info on Mr. Savalas (I just can't call him Telly)....

"Telly Savalas ranks among the most recognizable actors of the 20th century. A veteran of World War II, Savages was nominated for an Academy Award in 1963 for Birdman of Alcatraz. Of course, his most famous role came as Lt. Theo Kojak on Kojak. Who loves ya' baby!"

Very cool.

Anyways, I confirmed with the seller 2 for $5 and began digging for card #2.

It was a non-sport box but found this equally impressive legend....

The King.......Richard Petty. Race Used Firesuit. Look at that photo!!

Friday, March 10, 2017

Another benefit to hunting and digging through numerous boxes looking for cards....you tend to find stuff you weren't even looking for.

In fact, I can't even claim to have found this card in particular.

Leave it to fellow collector, digger and frugal-minded collector Captain Canuck for finding this little offering for me.

Great eye! This is a super shot of the "Big Three"??? posing for Polaroids after their big win in 2007. Getzlaf, Perry and........some other guy. Oh yeah - Dustin Penner. Whatever happened to him?

Anyways, it was a solid pickup and I guess I have Captain Canuck to thank (although I'm sure I would've seen this one when I eventually went through that same box....it was just inevitable).

Adding another card to the ever growing binder tonight and I had a chance to flip through the pages. I like when a project such as this starts showing some teeth. A fun, inexpensive collection.

And that's what the hobby is all about.

(oh......and helping people)

For the record, Dustin Penner - a TWO TIME Stanley Cup Champion....ugh - last played in the NHL in 2014 and was last seen being unceremoniously booted from TSN's Trade Deadline team after tweeting some "insensitive stuff". I think we will leave things at that. Yikes.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

I like digging. Digging through huge monster boxes of cards. Not base cards but inserts. Jersey cards and autos that have been sitting for far too long in a closet.....with blowout prices on them.

I like that.

The recent card show had me sifting through a couple tables worth of boxes and I managed to find a few diamonds in the rough.

I made the decision to not go overboard and buy stuff for my trade box.....but that didn't last long. Some Masked Men I and II card for .50 cents each killed that goal. I'm a sucker for a good deal.

Looking back I wonder if that was a good deal?? Ha ha.

Anyways, on to one of the cards I found through my hours of digging.

2010/11 Panini Crown Royale

Voices Of The Game

#1 Charlie Simmer

This is a very small collection I have passively been building. Working in the world of television and media I thought it would be fun to go after these cards. Especially when you start the collection off with a legend like Dick Irvin. As my nephew would say....noice.

Charlie used to do color commentary for the local Flames games for a few seasons back before the huge Sportsnet NHL bid. He wasn't too bad to listen to......but I'll admit I like his signature better.

Simmer has a real nice auto and it fills the card out well. He seems to be sporting a Kings jersey in the photo...likely from a night honouring him - or a teammate.

For just a few bucks I'm happy to add it to the meek collection.

Oh.......and in case you were wondering......Bob Cole does have a signature card (or two). It's officially on the radar.

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

I may not have picked much up, but what I did get I'm happy to add to the various pc's in my hobby world.

I've said it a few times.....the 2014/15 Upper Deck Premier Signature Champions set might be one of the nicest auto sets I've seen. As you all know I'm a sucker for the Stanley Cup shots and the hard signed autos make this a great build.

Some tough cards to chase, but I'm in no rush. I added an easier one from the show.

This Chris Chelios comes from his days as a Detroit Red Wing (would've preferred him in a Habs jersey) but boy does this photo ever look good. Look at all the action behind him....everyone clamouring for the best shot. Looks like the photog who took this pic got "the one".

It's numbered to 99 copies (one of the easier to chase in the set) but the asking price was a little more than I wanted to spend. I think I caved because I had just sold a card a few minutes beforehand and had some extra cash in my pocket. A dangerous mix.

And of course a quick check on completed eBay sales confirm that I paid too much. Hate to say it....but this is just not a $20 card.

Except to me. But I guess it could be worse.

Not huge buyer's remorse.....but a little.

In the end I'm glad to cross another one off the list from this set. It's coming along nicely.

Monday, March 6, 2017

So the big card show in town happened this past weekend and I was rarin' to go. I was excited to see some of the guys that I've come to know over my many years of collecting and check out some of the dealers who have come in from out of town....it's always nice to see some new stuff on tables.

The show was great. A good number of tables, decent variety, some good deals to be had and just a really positive vibe. A great way to kill and afternoon.

I'll spend some time sharing some of my finds over the next few posts but there were two things that were the main takeaways from the show.

First.....I seem to have much better luck finding stuff for other people. A diehard Sedin collector (who has a pretty tiny wantlist) has been a great friend to me in this hobby. Enthusiastic about collecting, selfless and genuine. I've made a point to keep an eye out for him at the local shows here and couldn't believe when I found not one...but two cards on his wantlist. An Artifacts dual stick /8 and an UD Contours gold /10. Unbelievable. I can't wait to send them his way.

Second.....the price of an item is absolutely not related in any way, shape or form to the enjoyment one can get from it.

Case in point.....

I am THRILLED to have found this sitting in a big Rubbermaid container on the ground to the side of a guy's table.

I was just minding my own business and noticed one of these mini McFarlane dual cases. Ryan Smyth and Mark....ugh Messier. I decided to take a closer look as they are not that easy to find.

I noticed the small 16 on the sleeve of another figure down at the bottom of the bin. I crossed my fingers as I pulled the package out.

I couldn't believe it.

Now, I already have one in my collection (and I remember paying a stupid amount - the shipping from the States was gross) but had to ask what the asking price was on this one.

"Four bucks".

I couldn't get the money out of my pocket fast enough.

Why did I want this mini figure so badly?

So I could do this.

All of my other Linden McFarlanes are still nicely in their cases (except the one exclusive to the Canucks store....I bought two when I went to Linden's jersey retirement ceremony and opened one). I was like a little kid as I tore into this one.

I must say, I'm really impressed with the way these look. Pretty good detail.

Ok.....maybe the face needs a little bit of work, but the logos, numbers, stick and "wrinkles" all really make this little dude come to life.

The back of his jersey looks equally impressive. The name and number just feel right.

I can't wait to take this one to work.....be bugged again about my hobby enjoyment, and add this to my little shrine on my shelf. It'll sit proud....free from it's plastic case.

Sunday, March 5, 2017

I've been sitting here tonight watching Hometown Hockey on Sportsnet...the Canucks vs. the Ducks. They are set up in Medicine Hat, Alberta - home of the Tigers (and Trevor Linden) and so my interest in the show was definitely a little higher than normal.

I had to PVR the pregame as I was at the Flames afternoon tilt against the Islanders but have watched both intermissions where Trev's parents came out (and maybe embarrassed their son a bit) and featured play-by-play legend Bob Ridley. I haven't seen so much 80's Tigers Cooperalls in a long, long time. Great stuff.

Made me want to share the rest of my antique show find from a couple weeks ago.

Back in December I hit gold at an antique show. In addition to a vintage hockey colouring book and scrapbook I found a couple nice Medicine Hat Tigers pucks from the Linden/Memorial Cup era. I was on cloud nine.

So you could only imagine my reaction when I went to the most recent antique sale and found these...

Holy cow.........what the heck???!!!!!

My go to when I get to this show is the back corner and the sports guy. He tends to have some goodies. And this time it was hockey pucks - lots of them. He had 70's era game pucks with logos from the Leafs, Blues, Penguins, Bruins, Barons (oh yeah) just to name a few.

He must have had about 40 or so pucks just overflowing a box on the table and as I was digging the smile on my face just got bigger.

Five Medicine Hat Tigers pucks. Sure, I have one of them already...but the condition pales in comparison to these. It was a no brainer for me to ask prices. He fired off a fair number and I guess my hesitation made him balk. He dropped his offer by ten bucks and we had ourselves a deal.

Now......what the heck era is that gem in the upper left? That one has me super curious.

I'm definitely going to have to get one of these signed in the future.

I feel like I'm slowly building a bit of a Medicine Hat Tigers collection. I like that.

Saturday, March 4, 2017

There's an antique show that runs in my city every six months that has slowly become a staple for me, my mom and my niece (and sometimes nephew) to check out. I love the fact that there's an event out there where three generations of people can go and enjoy a day out and maybe find some treasures.

I am always keeping an eye out for one seller in particular who always seems to have some neat sports stuff. He used to work for the local media here in town and has things like photo sheets, slides, yearbooks, media guides and posters. This past show he had a box full of gorgeous hockey pucks - game issued from the late 1970's. Oh....if I only had the money, I would have bought them all.

But he did have something that I couldn't stop thinking about and finally decided to take a chance on.

1975 Topps Minis........about 300 of them.

Man is this set ever beautiful. The colours, fonts and crisp looking backs make this one of the all-time great sets.

I was ho-humming about snagging them because....well, simply put I just don't know a lot about them. What's a good price?

So I tried my best to do a little research. Sometimes not knowing is best.....you can make a little lower offer and just say "Hey......I'm taking a flyer on this".

I think this will pay off though.

BAM!! What a great card. Sure it's no George Brett rookie card.....but a Gary Carter is no slouch.

Man does he ever look young in that pic. I guess that's why they called him "The Kid".

It's in decent shape and I'm just thrilled to have found this in the lot.

How about a Nolan Ryan? Dude is just legendary.

This one again is in really nice shape. Great colours and the backs are just spot on.

Ryan's highlight card is a little more rough. Way miscut and a little softer on the edges.

But still......it's Nolan.

Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!

I love this card. The batting helmet, the green and gold, the colours on the card - awesome.

Another one that is in really nice shape.

Johnny Bench is a player I wish I got to see play in his prime. I don't think I fully have come to appreciate just how good he was. He's like the Bobby Orr of baseball for me. Just a few years before I was aware of him.

Look at that background. Man they don't make cards like this anymore.

I really like the shot of this Steve Carlton too. Empty seats galore. Makes me laugh because where I work, using any sort of footage with empty seats is such a no-no.

I just realized the facsimile autos on these (yeah....I'm slow). These look even better now.

Checklists might be boring....but not unmarked ones from the 70's.

This one is a little diamond cut but is still in solid shape.

Second verse same as the first. I like this one even more to be honest.

So.......what's a good price on the lot?

I paid $40cdn for all of them. Did I do good? I feel as though I'll be able to make a little on them down the road. For now, I'm happy to just have them part of my collection.

Oh....I almost forgot.

The best find of the day at the antique show....

You might have to be my age or older to be impressed by this.

An Archie Bunker Grandson doll.

Who's buying this? I don't know how many 5-year-old girls would be watching All In The Family back in the day.

"Physically Correct Male"???? Ok.

Classic!!!! An no.....I did not buy it. (although I wonder if I should have)